


Remember

by royalsunshinehotel



Category: Lion (2016)
Genre: No Pandemic, Or nothing, and it's alright, it's positive, you're at a bar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:47:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29829987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/royalsunshinehotel/pseuds/royalsunshinehotel
Summary: Saroo's about to get everything he wants.
Relationships: Saroo Brierly/Reader, Saroo/Reader
Kudos: 1





	Remember

The bar was crowded for this party. It was much deserved, but you barely knew half of these people. Reporters or Saroo’s other friends? Who can tell?

All this attention he’s getting is well deserved.

You hadn’t seen him in weeks since he’d gotten back from India, and the first chance you get, he’s booked by strangers. You are proud of yourself, being at parties doesn’t come natural to you, but you’re standing your ground this time.

You just needed to talk for a few minutes. All of these reporters and yet you’d seen it up close. Trying to find his family had almost broken him, and now he’s here, laughing with his people.

That doesn’t change the fact that you don’t do parties, so you order a drink.

“Hey babe,” your friend Ella pops up to join you, “Tonight better be the night.” She orders an Appletini and drinks it in two sips. 

“Night for what?” Ella talks a lot, you can’t keep up with all of it. “I have no idea what you mean.” You tighten your grip on the cold glass the bartender passes you, she sees.

“No more sad shit, boss up. Literally quit yearning, I’m here to help you get over it.” Elle squeezes your shoulder.

“What a pal,” you reply dryly.

She’s right. You’re not going to admit it. You sneak a look, trying everything you can not to stare.

He’s with her. There was something you didn’t like about Lucy, but so what? Ella chatters at you, you laugh and listen against the white noise of the crowded bar.

You’re two drinks deep, so you ponder, like most drunk people do.

Her eyes don’t change. They’re flat like a shark. You smile even though your throat’s burning. 

She doesn’t move her face when she speaks, you snort into your drink.

You’re just out of it enough that you’re staring at the two of them. There’s not much to be done at this point.

Elle drags you out onto the floor for a slow dance, because she’s trashed. You’re glad she’s here though. She’s a little insane, but she’s right.

If she sees right through you, could he? Does he even want to?

Miss Shark eyes glances over at you a few times. She’s smiling but not really.

Pressure in your chest releases when she walks up the steps, out the front door.

Was she truly so horrible, or did you just desperately want what she had?

Saroo looks over at you, and you freeze, like you’ve been caught doing something wrong.

Maybe you were.

The air in the bar suddenly felt thin, and you grasp Elle’s shoulder, practically shouting into her ear.

“I’m tired, can we go?” Elle’s smile falls, only for a moment. Her eyes flick across the room to Saroo, who had since started to chat with another friend.

“Of course! Maybe we can see a movie?” No. ‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days’ was showing at the local movie draft house, and it wasn’t what you needed right now.

Elle stares at you sadly, in the way only a close friend could. You’re yearning, she’s right, but you have no idea how to explain how you feel. There’s a gap in your chest. You couldn’t quite tell what was supposed to fit there. 

Were you angry?  
Were you sad?  
Or was there just…nothing?

“Maybe we just need a change of scenery.” She squeezes your cheeks before redirecting you towards the steps. You knew you were a lightweight, but damn your depth perception was gone. The small, worn out wooden stairs didn’t help.

“YN.” Oh no.

You made it to the first step, you were taking it slow, but you turn a little too quickly, you bump right into his chest. He’s wearing the same grey t-shirt he was wearing in the photos he’d shown you of his family.

“Wow, gone wild tonight?” He laughs, tight grip around you.

“We’re just on our way out.” You barely have a whisper to respond. Your eyes are half shut and you feel Elle staring holes into the back of your head.

Your friend pinches you when you take too long to respond. His heartbeat is distracting, it’s not your fault. He puts your feet evenly back on the floor, hand resting on the small of your back , supporting you as you figure out how to connect your mind to your body getting up the rickety steps.

You aren’t quite sure why your wobbling anymore.

You take a breath as you step up onto the street, cool air a relief to your flushed face.

“How much have you had?” Saroo asks, giving you the side eye. This is what happens when you’re left unsupervised, he’s MIA for months, he needed to handle the changes. You could spit back something cutting, but Elle takes over.

“Not much, she’s a lightweight but we love her, right Saroo?” trying to give you a dramatic kiss on the side of your head, but she misses horribly.

You cringe.

There’s another pause you don’t quite know what to do with.

Elle breaks it once more, “I’ll see you tomorrow babes, I’m gonna catch this cab,” Elle smiles, throwing her jacket over her shoulder, sliding into the cab, only to stick her head out the window and yell, “Saroo, get her home safe!”

You were gonna kill her next time you saw her. You’re alone with him now.

How did he get prettier in the street lights?

“I’m walking this way.” You gesture a random direction as an excuse to leave, he’s with someone else and you needed to handle it on your own time, not his.

“I’ll go with you, we can catch up.” He says brightly, keeping pace with you, feet scuffing on the pavement.

You make it about a block before you come up with words. Being drunk and in love is a bad combination.

“So how’s things?” You are so lame, but you smile at him.

It’s not your fault he smiles back. Maybe you were too far gone, but why not think good things for once?

“Good?” He replies, shrugging. A yellow traffic light is bouncing off his skin and you’re sure you’re not going to make it home.

“Yeah, I heard that.” Saroo looks at your face as you say it casually. He’d told all of his closest friends what had happened, and this wasn’t how it had gone with anyone else.

“Your so brave and shit,” You poke him in the chest, he blinks at you, “you made it happen.” He takes your arm when you nearly miss a step on the uneven pavement. He had some nerve, acting like he didn’t know he had sent sparks up to your shoulder. How dare he not know what you don’t tell him?

“Thanks.” He laughs in reply. Suddenly you feel winded, pulling him to a stop.

“Your really pretty too.” You poke his cheek, wobbling in your boots. You parley this into a hand on his face, it feels like he

“You’re the best person I know, actually.” You smile up at him, leaning heavily as the ruckus of ‘tourist season’ kicked into full swing.

“Funny, I could say the same about you.” Your heart jumps, nearly knocking you over.

His eyes crinkle softly at the edges, so you just have to kiss him. You just have to! 

You could blame the alcohol, or you could blame your friend. He’d just done something impossible, why couldn’t you? He’s out of your league, but you’d be damned if you didn’t swing for the fences.

At least that’s something Elle would say.

You don’t pull him down to you, you get up on your tiptoes so he has to support you.

If you want to get as close to him as possible, he must feel the same. The person you know so well is wrapped around you tightly, lips pressed to yours.

A spark of annoyance flares in your brain, you should be on the top your your game for this. It’s what he deserves.

It’s what you deserve too.

The feeling fades quickly as adjusts his mouth, pressing small kisses across your face, getting gentle only at your eyelids.

You giggle softly, wrinkling your nose as his beard tickles your face. He moves his hands to your hips, and you loop your arms around his neck, pulling gently at a handful of hair. You were about to go flying off into space, and if a grip on his hair would save you, so be it.

It’s either a moment or an hour, but you whine as he pulls away, your face hot.

“Fuck I’m sorry.” He’s panting, “we’re trashed.” You frown. He’s right, but you still want more. Your eyes are closed, overwhelmed.

You feel his hands, come up to either side of your face. He presses another soft kiss into your lips, catching the moan there. You’re going to melt into a puddle on the sidewalk, but here he is, holding you up.

His breath sets your hold body on fire, and the effect of the alcohol is nonexistent.

You wonder if he wants to pull away and act like this never happened, but he doesn’t. He rests his forehead against yours and the sounds of the city fall away.

“When I have you, you’re gonna remember it.” The words are soft and kind, yet he sends a jolt up your spine. You could whine about how he’s not being fair, but he is. You know he is.

You want him, and you’re going to have him. You smile into his shirt.

Words. What are words?

“Saroo.” You rasp, holding onto his shoulders.

“Yes?”

“I don’t know which way I’m walking.” You hear him chuckle, how it rumbles in his chest.

“I figured.” You press your face into his chest as he calls a cab.


End file.
